


Ransel and Kretel

by Lady Rahl (thewrittenfae)



Category: Legend of the Seeker
Genre: Challenge Response, Legendland, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-20
Updated: 2012-02-20
Packaged: 2017-10-31 12:04:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/343845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewrittenfae/pseuds/Lady%20Rahl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hansel and Gretel, the Legend of the Seeker version. <br/>This story was written for a LJ Challenge where teams made books, my team did fairy tales re-imagined.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ransel and Kretel

There once was an old woodcutter who lived in the forest with his two children and their step-mother. Zedd was getting up in years, so the woodcutting business was getting slow and not bringing in as much money. This left the family scrounging to feed all four of them.

It was no secret to Zedd or his children that Shota didn't like either child. She'd made comments about it since they were married and the whole year after. She suffered through having them around though, because there was no real way to get rid of them and they never presented a serious problem for her. One night though, she woke with a gasp from a startling dream in which she saw the children as the cause of her death. 

That next morning she sat Zedd down and told him that he needed to take the children deep into the forest and leave them there. That she never wanted to see them again. They had a small argument that both of the children overheard. 

"I don't want to go away, Richard." Kahlan's blue eyes looked pleadingly at her brother, willing him to fix this.

Richard pulled Kahlan into a hug and stroked her hair gently. "Don't worry, Kahlan, I'll take care of you. We won't be lost. I promise." 

That day before dinner Richard made sure to stuff his pockets with some little white rocks from the garden while Shota was busy making dinner. That night after dinner, though reluctantly, Zedd led Richard and Kahlan deep into the woods as Shota told him to. When they'd gotten far enough in that he didn't think they'd be able to find their way back, without a word because he knew not what to say, Zedd used his magic and vanished from sight. 

Kahlan's hand tightened in Richards as she looked around the dark forest with a soft whimper. "Richard, I want to go home."

Richard hugged Kahlan tightly. "It's okay. I left a small trail of stones. Look." He turned them and pointed at the way they came. True to his words there were little white stones glinting in the moonlight. "I dropped them as we walked, so now we can find our way home." 

Kahlan curled into Richard with a nod and the two made their way back slowly, picking up the stones as they walked. It was late when the two finally made it back to their house and rather than walk their dad and step-mother, they crawled in through the window and into bed. 

The next morning, Shota was furious to find the two back in their beds come morning. She told Zedd he was to do it again tonight and do it right this time. He nodded meekly at his wife and the day went on as normal as it could be. Richard settled the bread from dinner in his pockets instead of eating it and after dinner Zedd once again led the children into the woods. He led them deeper this time before he disappeared once again.

Kahlan once again curled into Richard with a worried whimper. "Richard, I want to go home. It's colder tonight," she murmured.

Richard hugged her again. "It will be okay, Kahlan. I left a trail again." When he turned though, he paled a little. The bread he had used to drop their trail tonight was missing. The tension in him had Kahlan give another soft whimper as she curled more into him. "We'll be okay, Kahlan. I promise." 

The two wandered about the forest for a while before finally giving up and curling up together under a big tree. Snuggled together, they stayed fairly warm and slept until first light. The two stretched a little when they woke, and Kahlan turned big blue eyes up at Richard with a soft, "I'm hungry."

Richard helped her along a trail with a soft look. "We'll find some food." After a moment of wandering the two found a little cottage in the forest. The two moved up to the cottage and Richard accidentally broke off a piece of the house. He nibbled it a little and beamed at Kahlan. "It's gingerbread!" 

Kahlan brightened and moved to snap off a corner of a white window sill and nibble it, grinning at her brother. "It's candy!" 

The two continued to nibble at the house until both were near full. Around that time the door finally opened and out walked a red robed man with long black hair. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

Richard slid a bit in front of Kahlan to protect her from the man. "We didn't know someone lived here."

Darken smiled, sharp and dangerous, "It's no problem, little ones. Please, come in. You look like you could do with a warm hearth and a nice cup of mulled spices."

Hesitant but needing the warmth to two accept the invitation and walk into the house. Darken led them to the hearth and got them cups of mulled spices before he moved to finish his breakfast. After a little while he asked the children why they were wandering the forest and Richard told him. To find out that the children would not be missed was a great thing for Darken. 

He told them that so long as they helped around the cottage they would be welcome to stay. And his first task for Richard was to get the dish that he'd left under a table. Richard didn't think anything of it and crawled under the table to get it, only to turn around and find Darken closing a door behind him, for there was a cage under the table. 

Kahlan yelled at Darken to release her brother this instant, but Darken told her that if she wanted him safe at all, she would help do the chores around the house and be a good little girl. Each night Darken fed Richard a heartier portion of food than he did Kahlan, wanting to fatten him up to be cooked and eaten later. And every night after Darken had gone to bed she helped pitch Richard's food out the window so Richard wouldn't get fat enough to cook. 

While, Darken got tired of waiting and moved to heat the oven. "Tonight is the night, little Richard." He smiled cruely at Richard as he moved to the cage. "into the oven you go."

Kahlan stood her ground in front of Darken, features firm in her stubbornness. "You can't do this! I won't let you."

Darken tussled with the girl and her hand ended up around his throat. Before she knew what was happening her eyes turned black and she felt a rush of power flow from her to Darken. Both of them fell to their knees, though Darken's head fell in a bow. "Command me, Confessor," he murmured softly.

Kahlan blinked with her mouth open in shock for a moment. She'd heard tales of Confessors but had never known that she herself was one of them. The moment passed though as she shifted away from the cage. "Let Richard out and then crawl into the oven yourself," she murmured softly. 

Darken rose and complied with her command. He unlocked and opened the cage that kept Richard confined before he moved and crawled into the oven himself with no hesitance.

Richard crawled out of the cage and bolted to the oven, closing it after Darken and locking it shut before he moved to hug Kahlan. "Are you okay?" 

Kahlan curled into Richard and nodded at his question. "Yes. I want to go home," she murmured softly into his shoulder.

Richard hugs her a little more as he smiles at her softly. "We can try to find our way home now."

Kahlan nodded again and let Richard lead her out of the cottage without looking back as Darken started to cook in the oven. "Home," she murmured softly. Though she pulled away with a soft, "Wait!" She moved back into the house for a moment before coming out with a small satchel. "I found these while I was cleaning. They should help."

Richard watched as she opened the satchel to reveal gems of considerable size as well as a small fortune in gold coins. "That will help a lot," he confirmed as they finally left the cottage.

The two wandered the forest for most of the day, but eventually they found their way home to their little house. Zedd came out of the door at the sight of them through the window, scooping them both up in a hug. "I was so worried about you two. Your step mother died a couple days ago and I went back to find you. But you two were gone."

Richard filled their father in on what had happened as he lead them into the house and got his children settled in front of the fire to get warm. He was happy about the treasure Kahlan had found and brought home, but he was happier about having his children back as they settled back into their little life, just the three of them.


End file.
